Undermining (also known as Removal of the Guard) is a chess tactic in which a defensive piece is captured, leaving one of the opponentīs pieces undefended or underdefended. The opponent has the unpalatable choice between recapturing or saving the underdefended piece.

Kramnik-Topalov in the seventh round of the 2004 Linares chess tournament reached the diagrammed position with White to play. The black knight on a4 is defended only by the black pawn on b5. White undermined the knight with 1.Bxb5. The game continued 1... Rxb5, 2.Rxa4, with a net material gain of a pawn for white.